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... you get another computer post!
Seriously, the Big Pile of Rescued Computers... the six computers collectively known as 'The Haul' has given me lots of low cost education, entertainment and a feeling of accomplishment when the old machine boots into it's new, upgraded glory.
Or sometime, just a little better than before glory. Because you never know when you're going to need a Windows 98 machine... or Windows XP machine.
( We'll discuss the Window compatible but free and open ReactOS another time. )
But seriously, if you find yourself an old and forgotten system, a little money and a bit of time on your hands, let me give you a little advice: before ordering any upgrades do your research.
The computer case may have the original stickers still on them advertising what great (for back then) hardware is inside. Don't trust them. Open that puppy up and find out what motherboard is within. (A can of aero-duster or an air blower will help clean out the dust.) The model number is usually printed somewhere on the motherboard. Copy it down *exactly* because the difference between and '-A" model and and '-B' model can be significant. Then go seek out both the computer manufacture's AND the motherboard manufacturer's sites. Although all of the machines in The Haul are no longer actively supported, the downloads for drivers and most importantly, the upgraded BIOS are often still available.
A big kudos out to both HP and Dell computers for keeping such information available!
BIOS upgrades can be tricky but they can unlock the motherboard's ability to take more powerful processors. Most computers - both consumer and business models - came with the cheapest parts they could stuff in there. I've got an old E Machine (remember those?) that came with a single core Celeron, and old style IDE drive and half a gig of memory. Oh, and a weak ass 220 watt power supply. The motherboard was natively able to take the then more expensive SATA drives and a full 2 gig of memory but that would have pushed the costs out of the consumer friendly range.
It could also take a PCIE graphics card. Oh, remember that weak ass power supply? Putting in the lowest power consuming Nvidia card popped the power supply. Go to the EVGA web site for their 'B' stock for cheap, good power supplies. I wish I did instead of spending too much for a replacement.
(Just a note on video cards: the Nvidia GT 210 and 220 cards are low end, low power cards that are fairly cheap and will usually beat the pants off the built in motherboard video. However, they're low end cards that don't give a lot of performance. The GT 630 or 730 cards are a little more expensive but if you're not a GAMER then they're a better choice. I refer you to the EVGA site for scratch and dent 'B' stock.)
So.. back to the E Machine. I thought I had come to a dead end after upgrading the RAM (cheap), the drive to a SATA (cheap) and dropping in a second hand (cheap) video card. The world is going 64 bit and many older single core CPUs can't handle a 64 bit operating systems or programs.
But I did the research... and a BIOS update is available to allow dual core CPUs to be used with the system. Oooooo. Maybe it's not reached the end yet....
What I'm going to be doing with all these refurbished and now Linux machines I'm not sure yet... X-D
-m
Seriously, the Big Pile of Rescued Computers... the six computers collectively known as 'The Haul' has given me lots of low cost education, entertainment and a feeling of accomplishment when the old machine boots into it's new, upgraded glory.
Or sometime, just a little better than before glory. Because you never know when you're going to need a Windows 98 machine... or Windows XP machine.
( We'll discuss the Window compatible but free and open ReactOS another time. )
But seriously, if you find yourself an old and forgotten system, a little money and a bit of time on your hands, let me give you a little advice: before ordering any upgrades do your research.
The computer case may have the original stickers still on them advertising what great (for back then) hardware is inside. Don't trust them. Open that puppy up and find out what motherboard is within. (A can of aero-duster or an air blower will help clean out the dust.) The model number is usually printed somewhere on the motherboard. Copy it down *exactly* because the difference between and '-A" model and and '-B' model can be significant. Then go seek out both the computer manufacture's AND the motherboard manufacturer's sites. Although all of the machines in The Haul are no longer actively supported, the downloads for drivers and most importantly, the upgraded BIOS are often still available.
A big kudos out to both HP and Dell computers for keeping such information available!
BIOS upgrades can be tricky but they can unlock the motherboard's ability to take more powerful processors. Most computers - both consumer and business models - came with the cheapest parts they could stuff in there. I've got an old E Machine (remember those?) that came with a single core Celeron, and old style IDE drive and half a gig of memory. Oh, and a weak ass 220 watt power supply. The motherboard was natively able to take the then more expensive SATA drives and a full 2 gig of memory but that would have pushed the costs out of the consumer friendly range.
It could also take a PCIE graphics card. Oh, remember that weak ass power supply? Putting in the lowest power consuming Nvidia card popped the power supply. Go to the EVGA web site for their 'B' stock for cheap, good power supplies. I wish I did instead of spending too much for a replacement.
(Just a note on video cards: the Nvidia GT 210 and 220 cards are low end, low power cards that are fairly cheap and will usually beat the pants off the built in motherboard video. However, they're low end cards that don't give a lot of performance. The GT 630 or 730 cards are a little more expensive but if you're not a GAMER then they're a better choice. I refer you to the EVGA site for scratch and dent 'B' stock.)
So.. back to the E Machine. I thought I had come to a dead end after upgrading the RAM (cheap), the drive to a SATA (cheap) and dropping in a second hand (cheap) video card. The world is going 64 bit and many older single core CPUs can't handle a 64 bit operating systems or programs.
But I did the research... and a BIOS update is available to allow dual core CPUs to be used with the system. Oooooo. Maybe it's not reached the end yet....
What I'm going to be doing with all these refurbished and now Linux machines I'm not sure yet... X-D
-m
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